Microsoft Office - Do clone programs work?

[Harold_Z]

I'm on a new computer and my trial version of Microsoft Office is expiring at the end of the month. I was checking prices on the internet and was somewhat bugged by the prospect of having to shell out big bucks for Office. In my online travels I came across a "clone" program for 11.95. The program is called Office Writer.

Anybody familiar with this or something similar? Is it any good?

Edited August 3, 2007 by Harold_Z

[Aggie87]

Check out OpenOffice. It's 100% compatible with Microsoft Office, and it's free (and legit). It's made by Sun Microsystems, and can be found at openoffice.org.

[Niko]

Check out OpenOffice. It's 100% compatible with Microsoft Office, and it's free (and legit). It's made by Sun Microsystems, and can be found at openoffice.org.

second that; we have it at work and (although I haven't used it that extensively) the Word and Excel Substitutes seem to work just fine (haven't tried the rest)

[Claude]

Another recommendation for OpenOffice.

I use it at home, but I don't much experience with it. Some large public administrations here in Europe have switched to Linux and OpenOffice, so it fulfills professional requirements. It's the ideal alternative for home users who don't want to spend big bucks on software.

http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/1705

Edited August 3, 2007 by Claude

[Harold_Z]

Thanks Guys. That's good enough for me. I'll be downloading Open Office this weekend.

[jazzbo]

I've read the "Sorry, We're Closed" version even offers instant messaging and multimediajukeboxing programs.